Japanese art

Japanese art, the painting, calligraphy, architecture, pottery, sculpture, bronzes, jade carving, and other fine or decorative visual arts produced in Japan over the centuries.

General characteristics

The study of Japanese art has frequently been complicated by the definitions and expectations established in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when Japan was opened to the West. The occasion of dramatically increased interaction with other cultures seemed to require a convenient summary of Japanese aesthetic principles, and Japanese art historians and archaeologists began to construct methodologies to categorize and assess a vast body of material ranging from Neolithic pottery to ... (100 of 31,491 words)